Tears of a Forgotten Tomorrow
Author: Just a reminder to all keeping track of my stories, this is the 3rd and final story in my DBZ trilogy. This story arc started in The New Guns and continued in Wings of Blood. So you might want to go back and read those in case you're lost, as it would probably help you understand the story better.
This story will complete the trilogy and finish the story of what happens to Goku, Trunks, and Pan on their journey. Please don't forget to express your opinions in your reviews (if you choose to review this story), and enjoy the conclusion to this tale!
Chapter 1: Ground Zero
FZZT!
The swirling cyclone of radiant energy fizzled out and vanished like a breeze in the world. Bright colored energy walls dissolved into a dismal, cold, tombstone colored black sky, choking on fumes and clouds of death. The young purple haired boy flexed his face with obvious disgust, his brown shoes flinching along with his green socks at the feeling this place brought. Pan's bare ankles shivered as a cold chill ran up her jean covered legs.
The world they had arrived in was supposed to be their own reality. The two Saiyan teenagers had been on a long journey, one that has given them many surprises. After the Judge had seemingly given up his life of vengeance, the strange man known as Taron appeared and claimed to be an agent of M.I.L.L.E.N.I.U.M. An intergalactic organization of the highest order, and Taron had arrived to take Trunks and Pan back to their world to save it.
But instead of a world filled with bright greens, massive hills, and the friendly faces of their fellow Z fighters and families, there was only death. Black, empty oceans with dead trees and endless miles of wastelands covered with filth and debris. Trunks and Pan felt like they had landed on some sort of dead alien planet, this looked nothing like their home.
Pan blinked curiously "Hey, what's going on here? I thought you said you were taking us back to our reality".
Trunks nodded "Yeah Taron, this doesn't look like our reality at all. Where are we?".
The blue haired man sighed and shook his head as the swirling energy of the dimensional gateway started to close around him. Taron's silver, shimmering suit started to fade away as he disappeared into the portal.
"I'm afraid this is your reality my young friends, please take care and good luck, the fate of the universe now rests in your hands" Taron said as he vanished.
The dark haired girl gasped and desperately flew towards Taron only to land face down in the dirt; she tried to stop Taron from leaving, but failed. Pan scoffed, a bitter snarl painted on her muddy cheeks.
Pan growled "That jerk, he just left us here, that's just super, now how are we supposed to get back home?".
Playfully ignoring his friend's complaints, Trunks figured he may as well look around and see if Taron was right or not. Stranger things have happened before. The capsule Corp. boy walked around, but making sure he was within visual range of Pan. Trunks kicked up clumps of black dirt as he examined the barren wasteland. A dark, cold, dead feeling surrounded the graveyard of burnt rubble and withered trees. The whole world seemed dead.
Something tore under the pressure of Trunks foot, it sounded like paper being ripped. The teen bent down and found a dirty old flyer wrapped around the base of his bare calf. Trunks picked it up and examined it. The paper was a dirty old flyer that seemed to be decades old:
Vanguard Guardian Robotics Inc……
State of the art, top of the line, satisfactory guaranteed……
Number one highest selling robot industry in the world……
Guaranteed Saiyan protection rate of 100 percent……
"Protecting your future, for a better and safer tomorrow"
Trunks blinked "Did I just read this thing right? A Saiyan protection rate, how does this guardian company know about the Saiyans?".
"TRUNKS, come here quick" Pan shouted.
Stuffing the brochure in his tan shorts pocket, Trunks quickly ran back to Pan. The young boy blinked as he realized Pan had wandered a bit from where he last saw her. The young girl was standing in front some sort of dark structure, something hidden behind the black smog and choking smoke of this seemingly dead and lifeless world.
Trunks asked the young girl "Pan, I'm here, is everything all right?".
Pan gulped "I really hope this isn't home, because if it is, then I'm starting to get really freaked out here".
The girl's bare arm lifted up and pointed forward, her trembling, baby like fingers shook in her black, fingerless gloves as she pointed ahead. Trunks blue eyes suddenly widened as the fallen structure had started to take shape. The darkness slowly faded away and the cold, chilling sensations of terror seeped into the heart of the young teens. Their eyes acted like mirrors of sorrow, reflecting the towering sight of misery and sorrow so vividly.
Kame's lookout tower was on the ground, smashed, broken, shattered, completely destroyed and reduced to nothing but chunks of half vaporized prehistoric rubble. The staggering sight of such a gigantic object being crushed so barbarically into this dead, cold soil caused Trunks blood to freeze with terror. The lonely souls of the hollow evil that clouded the skies above seemed more alien then ever, Pan could feel her heart beat rapidly.
"This is Kame's look out……this……this is KAME'S look out" Trunks gasped.
Pan bit her lip "I don't like this Trunks".
Trunks was still in shock "But this is KAME'S look out, it's been floating over Earth for years. How the hell did it get here? This is impossible".
Pan blinked "I know it doesn't make any sense, I thought papa always said no one knew about the look out but us".
The shattered remains of the fallen look out sported some gigantic black holes inside the fractured, mangled white tile floors. Burn marks around the holes indicate some kind of explosion came from below. Trunks scratched his chin with his leather brown gloves and pondered.
Trunks replied "If I didn't know any better, I'd say those are missile holes".
Pan frowned in confusion "Missiles? You mean someone shot the look out down, you mean like with bombs and stuff, not energy blasts?".
Trunks nodded "That's right, these fractures are too small to be some kind of energy blast. And judging by the shape of these ruins, I say this happened some time ago, like years and years ago".
Pan gasped "Wait a minute, that doesn't make any sense. The last time we were here, everything looked fine, it was normal. We were only in that other dimension for like a day or two".
The Saiyan teen sighed "I know Pan, but that doesn't mean time flows the same way in every dimension. I'm starting to think this in fact our reality and this is where we are supposed to be".
Pan grouchily crossed her bare arms and tapped her small foot, the young girl wasn't buying this one little bit. Trunks gasped as Pan pointed right at his nose and growled.
"You better be joking Trunks because I DON'T like it here, I don't like it at all. Even if this pigsty was our home, don't you think we would have seen Uncle Goten, or Papa, Piccolo or someone by now?" Pan asked.
VRRRRRRMMMM!
The Earth started to shake, crumbled homes and shattered landscapes started to crack and rot as the Earth shook with thunder. A large force was rapidly approaching and the rotting, brown colored planet could sense its power in its quakes. Trunks and Pan gasped and quickly hid behind the look out's remains. Terrified young eyes and hands quivered behind the colossal chunks of white tile and rock, the Saiyans feared what was approaching.
The shining glare of bright silver blinded Pan as she winced behind her orange bandanna and midnight, black hair. A gigantic tank rolled by, or rather floated by, the machine seemed to be hovering off of the ground. The tank was dark chrome silver. Under the tank's bottom, a curved disc like bumper armed with teeth like blades surrounding the edges of it. The tank's front end had a twisted skull painted in it with 2 blood colored R's on it.
The tank had a smoothed, down slope like design, more alien looking then human looking. The tank's cannon jutted out from the front of the tank, usually where the eye holes were. Missiles and laser blasters were armed to the sides of the top base of the tank's canopy. Trunks gasped in awe at the strange but marvelous designs of the robotic juggernaut.
Pan pouted at Trunks interest with the tank "What's so cool about a stupid machine anyway?".
More tanks followed and behind them were large, bat like flying jet planes, soaring high above the graveyard colored skies. The bat jets were dark purple in color and their wingspan spread out like the wings of an eagle. A bubble like shield protected the pilot inside the purple, bat aircraft. The front of the bat jet had a demonic, bat like metal face constructed for a nosecone. The eyes and teeth of the bat's steel face concealed guns and large missiles.
Each wing of the bat jet also had a bloody red R painted on. Marching footsteps loudly echoed through out the dead, dark, and dreadful dusk of the rotting world. Feet stomping forward crushed against the clumps of rotting dirt, a vast army of soldiers proudly marching forward followed the tanks and jets. Each soldier carried a massive, chain gun like blaster in its hands, and each soldier wore a silver, space like suit with two red R's on the vest.
Trunks stared wide eyed "I don't believe it".
Pan blinked "Neither can I, it's an army of Android 17 and 18's".
Indeed, the massive, mechanical armada was made entirely out of replicas of the infamous cybernetic siblings from Dr. Gero's twisted workshop. The Android 17 and 18 army marched together in unison, devoid of emotion, personality, or free will of any kind. Pan started to float up as she went to greet the android army, Trunks panicked and frantically yanked her down.
Trunks gasped "Are you nuts?".
Pan frowned "What are you doing Trunks, we finally see some friendly faces and you want to hide from them?".
Trunks sighed "Do they look friendly to you? Something is seriously wrong about this Pan and I don't think we should go talk to them".
Pan smiled "Hello, silly, Android 18 is Krillin's wife, she's our friend. So what if there's a few hundred more of her, I'm sure she could tell us where we are and what's happened while we've been gone".
The purple haired boy screamed as she tried to hold Pan down, but the feisty young girl shrugged Trunks off and waved to the android army. Trunks groaned out loud and quickly went after Pan.
"Hey, 18, hey it's me Pan, Goku's granddaughter, how are you?" Pan asked, blissfully cheerful.
One of the android 18's from the massive army ceased moving and turned towards Pan. The android blinked confused ice eyes at the young girl, 18 didn't seem to recognize Pan at all.
Android 18 replied "Identify yourself".
Pan blinked "Huh, 18, it's Pan, Goku's granddaughter. You remember Goku right? Best friend with your husband, Krillin?".
Trunks growled "Pan, I think we should get the hell out of here, NOW".
The android stared at both of them and continued blinking a cold, uncaring response, almost mechanical one might say.
Android 18 spoke again "Voice key incorrect, ID record not available".
One of the many Android 17's stirred from the endless army of robots and approached his cybernetic sister.
Android 17 frowned "Alert status omega: Saiyan DNA detected, terminate immediately".
Trunks and Pan gasped as Androids 17 and 18 quickly armed their massive cyber chain gun blasters, and aimed them at the 2 teens. Pan gulped as a lump of cold fear and sweat sank down her trembling throat.
"Told you so" Trunks whispered.
Pan groaned "Shut up".
The army of androids started to deter from the single, marching path and approach the 2 other androids. The 17 and 18 army charged their blasters up and prepared to fire upon Pan and Trunks. The Saiyan teens trembled in fear at sight of the glowing blue energy brimming inside the blast, the androids chanted as they raised their hands in the air and said:
"FOR THE GLORY OF THE RED RIBBON EMPIRE, ALL SAIYAN SCUM MUST DIE"
To be continued……